But the 2008 world champion insists his team is not ready to compete with the likes of Red Bull's triple world champion Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso when the new season starts in Melbourne on March 17.

"I think people are talking us up at the moment," Hamilton told reporters.

F1 teams unveil 2013 cars 10 photos

F1 teams unveil 2013 cars10 photos

F1 teams unveil 2013 cars – Pastor Maldonado took the new Williams for a spin at Barcelona on February 19 following the launch at Circuit de Catalunya.

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F1 teams unveil 2013 cars10 photos

F1 teams unveil 2013 cars – The new Infiniti Red Bull Racing RB9 was launched at the Austrian-owned Formula One team's English headquarters in Milton Keynes on February 3.

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F1 teams unveil 2013 cars10 photos

F1 teams unveil 2013 cars – Mark Webber, left, and triple world champion Sebastian Vettel pose with the Red Bull they will be driving this year.

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F1 teams unveil 2013 cars10 photos

F1 teams unveil 2013 cars – Title rivals Ferrari launched the new F138 which they hope will power Fernando Alonso to glory in 2013.

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F1 teams unveil 2013 cars10 photos

F1 teams unveil 2013 cars – British team McLaren unveiled its car on January 31. New driver Sergio Perez (right) poses with 2009 world champion Jenson Button and the new MP4-28.

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F1 teams unveil 2013 cars10 photos

F1 teams unveil 2013 cars – Former McLaren star Lewis Hamilton, left, and new teammate Nico Rosberg pose with the new Mercedes W04 on February 4.

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F1 teams unveil 2013 cars10 photos

F1 teams unveil 2013 cars – Sauber's new C32 was launched in Switzerland on February 2. It will be driven by Perez's replacement Esteban Gutierrez and Nico Hulkenberg, who left Force India in 2012.

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F1 teams unveil 2013 cars10 photos

F1 teams unveil 2013 cars – Force India's Paul Di Resta with the new VJM06 which was launched on February 1 at Silverstone. His new teammate had yet to be named.

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F1 teams unveil 2013 cars10 photos

F1 teams unveil 2013 cars – Charles Pic and Dutch rookie Giedo van der Garde launched Caterham's new CT03 car on the first day of preseason testing at Circuito de Jerez on February 5.

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F1 teams unveil 2013 cars10 photos

F1 teams unveil 2013 cars – Romain Grosjean was third-fastest on the opening day in Jerez for Lotus, which was the first team to launch its new car -- the E21 -- on January 28.

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How good is Sebastian Vettel? 14 photos

How good is Sebastian Vettel?14 photos

Case for greatness – Sebastian Vettel celebrates with his team and admirers after a pulsating race at Interlagos in Brazil. But where does the Red Bull driver rank in the pantheon of F1's virtuosos?

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How good is Sebastian Vettel?14 photos

Dizzying denouement – On Sunday, Vettel fought off feisty toreador Fernando Alonso to capture the drivers' title in a dizzying denouement and join an elite band of Formula One world champions.

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How good is Sebastian Vettel?14 photos

Hard drive – It is mark of Vettel's greatness that he had come to from behind at Interlagos after a nightmare start on the opening lap when he was hit on the fourth turn and suffered damage to his car. It left Vettel at the back of the grid but by the 24th lap the Red Bull racer had clawed his way back to fifth place.

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How good is Sebastian Vettel?14 photos

Schumacher verdict – "Even if he appears to have a car that makes it possible for him, nevertheless he has to do it," said seven-time world champon Michael Schumahcer of Vettel's achievements.

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How good is Sebastian Vettel?14 photos

Special driver – "He's going for it 200% and it's a very tough job," added Schumacher of Vettel's talent. "He managed to pull it out and that is the extra effort that comes from him and to do this so consistently is very special."

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How good is Sebastian Vettel?14 photos

Newey genius – The 2012 season demonstrated that if you want to get ahead in F1 make sure you have a good engineer in your team. Arguably there is no better engineer in the sport than Adiran Newey.

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How good is Sebastian Vettel?14 photos

Schumacher domination – "Schumacher had five consecutive titles but that was in a period when Ferrari had influence on tyre development," said former McLaren GP winner John Watson.

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How good is Sebastian Vettel?14 photos

Rare talent – "The interesting part is that this championship has been so hard-fought and it didn't really come together until the last races,"said 1978 champion Mario Andretti. "This season has been one of the best in memory. Vettel is one of the rare talents that don't come along very often."

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How good is Sebastian Vettel?14 photos

Best designed car – "Vettel is making the most of the best design in F1," added Andretti.who is one of only two American drivers to have won the Formula One title. Here Andretti (R) is seen talking to Stirling Moss, during the championship winning season in 1978.

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How good is Sebastian Vettel?14 photos

F1's dark days – When Schumacher won his first world title with Benetton in 1994 it was also one of F1's darkest periods. The German won the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994 where both Simtek racer Roland Ratzenberger and three-time world champion Ayrton Senna lost their lives.

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How good is Sebastian Vettel?14 photos

Ecclestone acclaim – Vettel celebrates with Formule One supremo Bernie Ecclestone following his title win in Brazil.

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How good is Sebastian Vettel?14 photos

Prost record – Vettel is now chasing after Frenchman Alain Prost , who won four drivers' titles.

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How good is Sebastian Vettel?14 photos

The slaughter era – "Fangio is my hero," said former McLaren GP winner Watson. "Why I respect him is that he won five world championships in an era when motor racing was fundamentally a slaughter."

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How good is Sebastian Vettel?14 photos

Vettel's quest – Vettel aims to join Prost next year -- then five-time winner Fangio and Schumacher's magnificent seven are all that are ahead of him in his quest for total greatness.

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United in rivalry: Prost and Senna 12 photos

United in rivalry: Prost and Senna 12 photos

Winning pair – Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were long-time rivals before they became teammates at McLaren.

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United in rivalry: Prost and Senna 12 photos

Suzuka showdown – Prost and Senna (No.1) clash at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka in 1989. Prost clinched the title after the Brazilian was controversially disqualified after winning the race.

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United in rivalry: Prost and Senna 12 photos

Uneasy rivalry – As they both battled for world titles at McLaren, Prost and Senna's relationship came under great strain.

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United in rivalry: Prost and Senna 12 photos

Rivalry boils over – Stand off: Senna and Prost walk away after the early crash at Suzuka in the final race of the 1990 season which left the Brazilian as world champion.

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United in rivalry: Prost and Senna 12 photos

McLaren dominance – Prost's time with McLaren proved the most fruitful of his career as he captured three world titles.

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United in rivalry: Prost and Senna 12 photos

The Professor – Prost earned the nickname 'The Professor' for his thoughtful and studied approach to Formula One racing.

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United in rivalry: Prost and Senna 12 photos

Monaco master – Prost competing in wet conditions at the Monaco Grand Prix which he won four times during his glittering career.

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United in rivalry: Prost and Senna 12 photos

Good times – Prost and Senna formed a united team in 1988 as the latter won the championship for McLaren.

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United in rivalry: Prost and Senna 12 photos

Imola tragedy – The medical team at Imola tend to the stricken Senna after his fateful crash in the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994.

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United in rivalry: Prost and Senna 12 photos

Senna mourned – Prost joined a pantheon of Formula One greats at Senna's funeral in Sao Paulo in 1994.

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United in rivalry: Prost and Senna 12 photos

The young pretender – In the latter part of career Prost had to battle with the youthful exuberance of future seven-time champion Michael Schumacher.

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United in rivalry: Prost and Senna 12 photos

From four to two wheels – Prost is a keen cyclist and is pictured here at the end of the 2009 L'Etape du Tour. The race enables 8,500 amateur cyclists to attempt a mountain stage of the Tour de France each year. The 2009 event was staged between Montelimar and Mout Ventoux, with Prost finishing 258th.

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"Vettel, and maybe Fernando, were saying I'm maybe going to be competing for the world championship, but I really don't see that happening at the moment.

"Of course that's our goal, but you have to remember the car was over a second off, sometimes two seconds off, last year and we've not caught up a second.

"Other teams will also have put a second on over the winter, so we've not gained three seconds, that's a fact.

"Hopefully by the end of the year, that's our goal, but definitely not at the beginning."